Yahoo Finance $600 a week: Most expensive suburbs to rent a room in a share house
More Aussies, including older people, are being pushed into share accommodation and the prices keep climbing.
Aussies are paying as much as $600 per week to rent a room in a share house, as more people seek flatmates to help cover rising rent prices and the cost of living.
The 10 most expensive suburbs to rent a room in Australia are all located in Sydney, according to Flatmates.com.au data.
Warriewood on the Northern Beaches was the most expensive suburb at $600 per week, followed by Darling Point at $590 and the Sydney CBD at $575 per week.
Have you had to move into a sharehouse because of rising costs? Share your story with tamika.seeto@yahooinc.com
Saint Kilda was the only suburb outside of Australia’s most populous city to make the cut, sharing 10th place with Rose Bay at $490 a week.
Nearly half (48 per cent) of renters living in share houses are doing so because they can’t afford to live on their own, the Flatmates.com.au survey found. In the past 12 months, nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of the 10,300 people surveyed said they entered sharehouse living for the first time.
“Over the past year, our audience has grown in size and diversity and, with the peak season for share accommodation at our doorstep, we expect demand for sharehouse living to grow,” Flatmates.com.au community manager Claudia Conley said.
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Older Aussies are also turning to share houses in droves. Those aged 55 to 64 were the fastest-growing demographic (up 21 per cent), followed by those aged 65 to 74 (up 13 per cent).
More Aussie homeowners are also renting out their spare rooms to get an extra income stream. Two-thirds (67 per cent) of room listers cited interest rate rises as their reason for renting out a room, while 86 per cent cited other financial reasons.
10 most expensive suburbs
The average cost of renting out a room in a share house is currently $290 per week, but some renters will have to pay more than double this in pricier suburbs.
Warriewood, NSW - $600
Darling Point, NSW - $590
Sydney CBD, NSW - $575
Bondi Beach, NSW - $560
Bondi Junction, NSW - $538
Bronte, NSW - $500
Cremorne, NSW - $500
Erskineville, NSW - $500
Manly, NSW - $500
Rose Bay, NSW and Saint Kilda, VIC - $490
Renters facing tough conditions
Renters are now facing even more challenging conditions after the national rental vacancy rate hit a new record low in October.
The national rate fell 0.06 per cent to just 1.02 per cent, according to PropTrack, as rental conditions deteriorated further in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Limited supply coupled with strong demand is also pushing up rental prices. The national median weekly advertised rent on realestate.com.au was $550 per week at the end of the September quarter.
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